Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-12-16
GASTRONOM[C FEAT!
People who will Swallow a Ship of
the Desert and yet Strain
at a Gnat.
That Is fau! Pu7cilious About Small
Thing: Reckless About Thinss
Whicn are of Great Magnitude.
There are in Our Day q Great Many CHATS
Strained out ana q 3rsst Many
camsls sw allowed.

| Special to the Gazette.
| BROOKLYN, n. Y, Dec. IL TO night
the Rev T, De Witt Tslmage preached st
the Tabernacle, this city, on TOO Much
! ADO About Smsll Things" His text wss
"Ge blind guides which strain st gnat
sud swallow 8 camel" Matthew xiii,
| "a. The elCquent preacher said:
A proyerb is comp ct wisdom, knowl-
| edge II churk0, library N 6 sentence,
| the electricity Of many clouds discharged
ia one holt, river put through mil!
race. When Cnrist quotes the proyerb
az the text He means 10 Sc. forth TIE lu-
| dicrous behavior OF those who mske q
| great buster about small sins end have
no appreciation OF great ones.
In my text small insect and large
qu.druped are brought into compsris "
| gnat and camel. Yhu have III muS-um
or 1.-THE desert seen the later great 4 k
Wsrd, epreWling Creature, with back two
stories higG, and stomach having COL
lection OF reservoirs for desert travel, an
animal forbidden 10 the Jews as food,
aud IN mary 1t T&tUres entitled sfthe ship
of the deser1" The gnet spoken OF Id
the text is in the gruo form Is born
in pool or pond, and after G few weeks
becomes chi -slIs, and then after = few
days becomes gnat as We reCognj2 it.
But the insect spoken OF in the + K is 10
its very smallest shspP, land it yet inhnbi's
the wster-fOr nv text is q misprint, aad
ought to read "-train out gnet"
My tex5 SHOWS yCu the prInce of ircon-
sistencies. A man sfrer long observation
has formed the suspicion that In cup Of
water he is about to drink there is gFuo,
Or the grdDdpsre1t OF gnat. he goes
and gets sieve or strainer. He taxes
the water, and pours it through the sieve
in the broad light. He says: "I would
rather do anything almost than drink this
water until this larya be extjrpated."
This water is brought under inquisition.
rhe experiment is successful. TIE water
rushes though the sew, and leaves
against the side of the sieve the gru1 or
gnst. Then the man carefully removes
the insect, and drinks the wafer with
placidlty. But g"ipg out one day, and
hungry. he de9our5 "3hip OF the
deeert," the camel, which the Jews were
forbidden to est. Tee astronomer has
no compunctions of conscience. He
suffers from no indigestion. IL puts tpe
lover Az under the c.mel's fore foot,
and his upper Jaw over the hump OF t1c
csmel's back. and gives one swallow,
aud the cromedsry disappears forever
He strained cut gaat; he Swallowed i
camel.
While Christ's audience were yet emil
ing at the experiences ard viii OF II :
iiiustration-f IT smile they did in church,
unless tn y We're too stupid to understand
the yperbole-Chrlst practically said to
them, "T1st is you" Puactilious about
sme things: reckless about affairs Of
great magniiu de. NJ subj CT ever with
cred uoder S surgeons knife more bitter
ly than did the Pharisees under Cnrist's
scdlpel Of truth A On ansromist will
TAKE HUMAN b IDy
to pieces aud put them under micro
scope for Y animation, so Christ finds HIS
way to the heart of the dead Pls'i ZEE and
cuts it out and putg it under the glass of
inspection for all generations to Il mine. |
Those Phsrisees thought that Christ
would f sitter them aud compliment them, |
and how they must have writhed under |
the red hot words &c he said, aye fools, |
ye whited sepuLChres, ye blind guides,
which strain out q enat and swallow a
camel"
There are in our day 8 grea. ssny gnats |
strained OUT and great many csDels |
swallowed, and 1t is the obi ct of this |
sermon to sketch 9 few persons who are !
engaged in that business. |
First, remark, inst all those minis !
tiers OF the gospel are photographed in |
the text who are very scrupuious about |
the conventiopalities OF religion, but pus
no particular stress upon matters OF vast |
Importance. C1urch services ought to be |
grave and solemn. There is no room for
frlvolity in Telig Gus COnyocation. But
there are Illus rations aud there are
hyperboles like that OF Christ il the t.
that will irradiate with smiles env intelli-
gent auditory. There are men like those
blind guides Of the text who advocate
only those things iD religious service
which draw the corners Of the mouth
down, and deDounce all those Things
which have tendency to draw the cor
ners Of the mouth up, and these men will
go to installations and to presby teries ard
TO conferences and TO associations, their
pockets fall of tine sieves TO strain Ont
the gnats, while IN their own churches a.
home every Sunday there are fifty people
sound asleep. They make their churches
q S1SeI tc4 D1ltcfy daA tlSiI sOnuliSIOuS
sermons are Crsale, and the orawled-
out hymns q lullaby, while some wak-fuI
soul in pew with her fsn keeps the fl es
IF unconscious persons approximate.
Now, say 10 ID worse 20 slesp IN CHURCH
then to smile in church, for the latter in
plies ct least attention, while the former
Implies the indifference Of the hearers
and
n Dr.
Ia old eye, or from physical iDfrmity,
Or from long watching with the sick,
arcwsiDess Will sometimes overpower
one; but when q nIoi.etf the Gospel
looks { & upOa "A su9ir: &c and fodS
n altay and ln.eilig-pt peuf.le struggling
with dro sS7ess. ii Is iiue for him To
give u3G ne Ok -,l:'gg or r'ronouDce the
Den-T !ctiUp the greet ilt OF cbur
services to-day Is nut tDD much Vivacity,
gu. hoo much solno blence. The one Is
In Irritating gnat that rnay be easily
strsi1ed out; tne other Ia 5 greai ,spra VI
ing and sleepy eyed camel Of the dry des
ert. Il ell our Sabbath schools, in ell
our Blole Classes. 10 ail our pulpi's we
need to brighten up our religious message
with such Christ-like viSaci.y Is We fad
n the tex.
took down from my library me biog-
,sphies of ministers and writers Of past
.ges, inspired and uninspIred, who have
done the most &C bring souls to Jesus
Christ, and ind that without single
exception they copsecrated their Wit and
heir humor to Christ. E ijsh used 1t
I